Something Sweet
by undercoverfeline
Summary: Mogar's very much a creature of the forest, living peacefully with his mother after the colorful ones help rescue her. Mogar is grateful, but now they think he's their friend, a member of the pack. The curious female's excited & the one who smells of sadness likes the idea. Only one of the small pack doesn't seem to care, Ponytail lady, the one who always smells of something sweet.
1. The Move

It was nearing the end of the warm seasons when his world was shaken up yet again. Mogar and his mother had been preparing their winter den, lining it with new furs and stocking up on dried meats, fruits and grasses. It was routine, it was familiar... It was ruined by the colored ones. They had invited Mogar and his mother into their den for the cold seasons, promising plenty of food, a special room just for him and his mother, and enough room for his furs if he did not want a bed. They must have heard him wrong when he said he would ask his mother and come to them before the forest was orange if she said yes because two days later his home is filled with five unfortunately familiar voices. The blue one is loud and energetic, pulling a red wagon with many precariously stacked boxes spilling out of it. He keeps talking about adventures and justice and friendship. Behind the wagon the green one is supporting an especially wobbly stack and grumbling about turf and attention stealing furries. But Mogar pales when he hears the curious female chattering away about behind the scene coverage and family ties having something to do with instincts and vigilantes. He does not understand all of wat she is talking about but he does not like it. The one who usually reeks of urine and sadness is silent. But he doesn't smell of sadness anymore and he is looking at the younger ones with a slight smile on his face.

Then there is a blue and white thing in his face and he is falling out of the tree he was perched in. The four he has been tracking are crowded around him and for a moment he is overwhelmed by loud voices and sharp, unnatural, scents. Another voice cuts through and the colored ones are the first pushed away as the ponytail lady comes into view. He stares at her as she scolds the others and gets them working on packing up all of his belongings. She does not stop directing and wrangling the discordant group until there is a room at the colored ones' den that looks like they picked up his cave and stuck it into the building.

"I tried my best to make it as close to the real thing as possible." He jumps when she starts speaking next to him.

"You made this," he gestures to the cave, "for Mogar?"

She frowns a little and shrugs. "Well, yeah, the dweebs burned your house down and did a shit job of rebuilding it so someone had to clean up their mess." Mogar just stares at her until she sighs. "What?"

"Why do you take care of them so much? Are they your cubs?" He doesn't understand why this makes her laugh, he just knows that he likes the sound.


	2. A Break in Routine

**A/N** : So this is a thing that started evolving ever since I rewatched X-Ray & Vav and realized that I ship Hilda and Mogar cause Juggey is adorable. Sssoooo...enjoy? Comment and review constructive criticism but don't be blasting that hate all over. If you gotta hate IM me.

Hilda isn't really one for change unless she's the one making it, new technology and advances in science are what she lives for. Sure she is CEO again and actively trying to make it work but other than Rusty and the mayor making daily visits to her new office to help her muddle through the hithertos and the whyfor's it's just part of the routine. But when the two idiots who call themselves heroes barge into her lab and declare that they've actually found a headquarters it doesn't affect her very much. What does affect her is that with the help of Monarchs Lab's too-eager-to-please-board they were able to get a wing entirely dedicated to her gadgety science stuff. Attached to her own room... She is a little curious to see what they came up with, but hey, those idiots are going to have to work for it. So they drag her half-assedly kicking and screaming to a moderately sized house painted a mix of green, blue, red, black, white... and purple. It's hideous. Vav must see the look she makes because he chuckles with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yeah, looks bloody horrendous, but it's home." Hilda bites back the sarcastic remark on his stupid shit-eating grin or the way he sounded like a schoolgirl with a crush. X-Ray is going on about needing soundproof walls for his mother's rooms and possibly some questionable security measures, but he's got that same grin and the same look in his eyes and Hilda can't find it within her to say no to them.

"Ugh, fine," she tries her hardest to seem extremely put out and inconvenienced "Where's my rooms? And I do expect my lab to not double as my bedroom." The next day X-Ray and Vav reveal their secret identities to her. Gavin Free works as a video and special effects guy for a small production company along with Ray Navarez Jr. who is a sound and video editor.

A couple of weeks later and Hilda has more or less adapted to sharing a house with the dweebs, Ray's mother and Rusty's usually uninhabited room. Ash comes around more than Hilda is generally comfortable with and practically lives there with how often she spends the night in the guest room. But it's not that bad having most of the above ground floors to herself most of the day. And actually kind of nice waking up to the slight hum of machinery in the next room and the sound of her idiots trying to make breakfast without burning the house down in the background.

She's gotten used to going down to the kitchen, grabbing the cup of coffee Ray has set out for her and searching the fridge for the special sugary creamer Gavin has concocted for her caffeine enhancement. It's routine to detach ORF from her charging dock by the pantry and sit down at the head of the table and watch as the boys muddle through their latest breakfast experiment.

"Hilda, why haven't you installed any sort of robot breakfast machine in the kitchen or somethin?"

"Yeah, you're totally using us as slaves or some- ow, Vav! Do not throw bacon into the pan, that's how you get grease burns!"

Hilda hides her smile behind her white mug with blue and purple atom models on it and shrugs. "I'll get round to it someday I guess."

Most days Ash will come down a little while after her, dressed and ready to go. After maneuvering around Ray and Gavin she'll sit to the left and a couple chairs down from Hilda with her own cup of coffee right as breakfast is placed on the table. ORF cleans up the kitchen, the boys head to work on the days they actually need to go in, Ash heads to her apartment, notes and drafts for her blog sticking out of her laptop bag, and Hilda makes sure one of the house bots takes a tray up to Mrs. Navarez's room. If Rusty actually used his room he'll stumble down closer to noon and mumble something close to a thanks as Hilda presses a fresh mug of black coffee into his hands and maneuvers him to the table where a hot plate of bacon and eggs is waiting for him. Sometimes there will be a couple slices of French toast and a splash of Jack Daniels in his coffee if he was limping more than he was stumbling the night before. He doesn't mention it to the rest or ever thank her out loud, and she doesn't hold him to any extra favors or payback. But whenever she needs a specific part or some new information, Rusty just happens to know a guy... maybe, possibly, it was a long time ago... you know what? Forget it, I got nothin. And the next day she makes sure that there's extra syrup on his French toast and his bacon is extra crispy and there's more alcohol than caffeine in his coffee as she pats his back and heads up to her rooms to get to the package that she found outside her bedroom that morning.

The day the boys sit her down at her usual spot, ORF already off her dock, Ash and Rusty sitting down with the remnants of a hasty breakfast pushed to the side and place her coffee in front of her just the way she likes it she already knows what her answer is

"No."

"But Hilda, you don't even know what we're going to ask yet." Gavin squawks as he sits next to Ash.

Hilda let's out a long suffering sigh and takes her glasses off to rub her temples. "You're going to ask if you can keep some wild animal or random -possibly dangerous- toy that happened to 'follow you home'."

"Well jokes on you cause it's not either of those things!" Ray exclaims from his spot across from Ash.

"I mean, technically there are wild animals involved." Rusty pipes up from his place to her right

"Animals? Plural?" She grinds out. Ray and Gavin shrink into their seats and Ash perks up.

"They're not technically animals. Well, I guess his mother is but if she raised a human she must be sentient and-"

Hilda holds up a hand, cutting her off as she takes a long drag from her cup. She lowers it as she hold the empty mug towards the kitchen. Gavin is up in a flash to refill it Ray bolting after him and grabbing a plate off the counter. "I am going to assume that you're talking about Mogar and his mother." There's some sound of confirmation as the coffee and food are placed in front of her and they take their seats again."Then," she says around a mouthful of avocado and toast, "What exactly have you numbskulls come up with now?"

"Summer is nearly over-"

"And all the forecasts and shit keep saying that this winter is going to be really bad."

"Like worse than bloody England, mate."

"And I know that bear dude is all off the grid and everything,"

"But what about his mother?"

"Guys," Hilda shouts, "What are you getting at?"

"Well…"

"We want to ask if Mogar and his mum can move in with us!"

"Vav!"

"Wha? It was your idea Ray."

Hilda smirked as Ray's eartips turned a bright shade of pink. "So someone getting a soft spot for our favorite furry?"

"Can we get to the point?" Rusty grumbles.

"Right." She leans back and takes of her glasses, pinching the bridge of her nose. "So you want my permission?"

"Well it is your house Hilda." Ash says as she stands, dirty plates in hand. "Your house your rules. But having Mogar, X-Ray and Vav all under the same roof as the CEO of Monarch Labs… That would be front page gold."

"Tempting Samaya, real tempting." The men leaned in as she tapped an off-beat cadence on the table. "Fine."

"Whoo!" Ray shot up from his seat, arms raised in victory. Then looked at Gavin's wide smile and the others' smirks. "I mean, cool."

Hilda smiled and shook her head. "I can have something set up for them in about a week."

"Great, that means we have a week to find and move them in." Gavin rushes from his seat, pulling Ash with him to the door. Hilda zones out, going over calculations in her head and sending ORF after them to get the specs on wherever Mogar and his mother had been planning on spending the winter. It takes a little over a week but soon there's a dugout cave leading into the house with a back tunnel leading down into Ray's and Gavin's rooms. And a few days later Hilda finds herself coordinating the transplant of a bear man and a magical cow from the middle of the woods into their basement. The day of the move she notices that Mogar seems a little more clueless than normal as he looks around the house and the artificial cave.

"I tried my best to make it as close to the real thing as possible." She chuckles when he jumps at her voice.

"You made this," He gestures to the cave, "For Mogar?"

She frowns a little at the question. Why go to all the trouble of making a fucking cave just because her idiots wanted a new pet? She just shrugs. "Well, yeah, the dweebs burned your house down and did a shit job of rebuilding it so someone had to clean up their mess." Mogar's stare unnerves her a bit. "What?"

"Why do you take care of them so much? Are they your cubs?" Hilda stares at him for a second before she's bending over laughing, wiping at the tears and clutching her sides.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Mogar has seen how they listen to you, has seen how you keep them from harm and they carry your scent."

"My scent?"

He looks at her the way he looks at her boys when they're being particularly stupid. "Yes, the entire den smells like you."

"Den? Oh the house." He nods and goes back to watching Gavin trying to lift his sword. "Well, they're not my cubs, but I don't want to hi let them get hurt."

Mogar nods and hmms almost sagely. "So they are your pack."

"What?"

"The colored ones, excitable female and the one who reeks, they are your pack."

"No, well..." She looks at the four people she had come to call friends and maybe... something more. "Yeah," she sighs with a soft smile, "I guess they are."

Mogar just turns to her with a soft, happy smile and Hilda feels most I the air leave her lungs. She fun herself fighting the urge to take a comb to his hair, or maybe a washcloth to the dirt covering the freckles on his cheeks. "It is good to have pack."

She frowns at him. "Does this mean you're pack now?" The breathless feeling leaves when his face falls into a scowl.

"No, Mogar and his mother are not pack." He crosses his arms and turns away from her with a growl. "We will be leaving when the rains replace the snow."

"Oh, okay then."

"Hilda, Mogar lookit!" Gavin calls, Mogar's sword pointed straight up and almost falling on the other three standing around.

"I swear to god Gavin Free, if you hit anything with that fucking glorified cleaver!" Yeah, they were idiots. But they were her pack of idiots.


	3. Mogar's First Breakfast

Living in the city was strange. Mogar didn't understand how anyone could be comfortable in a place filled with so many sounds and smells. But no one around him seemed troubled by it and even his mother enjoyed their temporary home. Somehow the ponytail lady had put together a device that worked like the Mad King's except that it was in some sort of wire box his mother could go in and out of as she pleased whenever she had too much milk. And behind the building the yard was filled with the 'wild' grasses and flowers she likes best all encompassed in a glass dome that made it feel like the summer. Why did ponytail lady make the cave if she had already made this? His mother told him it wasn't polite to question their host's kindness. So he bit his tongue whenever he smelled something sweet enter a room.

It was almost a week before Mogar followed the scent of strange food to the kitchen and stood in bafflement at the controlled chaos. Ponytail lady held a steaming cup in one hand as she reached into a large box and the colored ones moved out of their way to get around her. He watched as they swelled up when she smiled at each and said goodmorning. She sat at one end of the wooden table and he slowly made his way to the other.

"Good morning Mogar." She said with a soft smile. It wasn't the same one she had given the colored ones. It was closer to the one she gave the curious female when she made her way into the room. He frowned. The colored ones had moved around ponytail lady, something his mother told him males did for females in the city, when she was grabbing her drink. But the curious female had had to weave her way between and around them as they cooked.

"Oh, Mogar!" The curious female exclaimed as she took her place to Mogar's right. "You came down for breakfast." His frown deepened.

"Yes, ponytail lady and colorful ones told Mogar that he was welcomed."

"Ponytail lady?" Hilda quirked an eyebrow as she looked at him over the rim of her mug.

"Yes?" Hilda smiled at the hesitancy in his voice and the way his brow furrowed in something near worry. "Is that not acceptable?" She chuckled at him.

"Why not call me Hilda? Everyone else does." Mogar just grunts and nods.

"And I'm Ash. The 'colored ones' are X-Ray and Vav."

"I know who the colored ones are." He grumbled at Ash then turned to Hilda. "You called the green one Ray and the blue one Gavin, correct?"

Hilda's smile was almost like the one she had given the boys in the kitchen. "Yeah, that's their names." Mogar stared at her for a second then nodded.

"Get it while it's hot losers!" Ray shouted as he came into the room carrying a steaming plate. "More coffee?"

Hilda didn't even answer before he grabbed her empty mug and traded it for the plate full of food. Mogar watched as he filled it again and passed it off to Gavin who poured what looked like a thick milk into it and brought it back to her before sitting down with his own plate. At Ash's prompting he made his way to the stove top with an empty plate and with her guidance began serving himself breakfast.

"She must be a powerful alpha." He says under his breath as the curious female hands him a spoon.

"What was that?"

"Ponytail lady, Hilda." He stabs the spoon into the yellow mass that smells of eggs. "the colored ones present her food before they are fed, common in packs."

"Alpha? Yeah, I guess she is… in a way..." Ash suddenly gasps. "if we're a pack, that's like a family right?" Mogar nods. "So you're a part of our pack now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Mogar has his mother. Mother has Mogar. There is no need for pack."

"You doing okay there?" Mogar jumps slightly and stops stabbing at the eggs to look at Hilda.

"Mogar did not hear you approach."

She waves him off, looking at the mess starting on the stovetop. "Here," she grabs the hand holding the spoon and helps him scoop a generous amount onto his plate. "If you need help, just ask." He nods silently as she takes the plate from him and walks him through serving himself.

"Mogar wanted to thank you for your assistance." He mumbles after the curious female has gone to her own den and the colored ones are off patrolling the pack's territory.

"Mhmm." She hums, not looking at him.

"Mogar is not used to," his face scrunches in effort. "You-tents-stilts."

Hilda chuckles as she places something into a pan, machines moving about her, cleaning the mess the colored ones had made. "That's okay, it takes time."

"Did the colored ones not provide you with enough food?"

"What?" She seemed to snap out of her trance. "oh, the toast." Mogar stared unblinking at the soft look that came over her face. "Rusty was home last night, and he only comes around when he… well, I'll let you figure it out."

Mogar hums thoughtfully, moving to the background as ponytail lady finishes up and pours a harsh, acidic smelling liquid into a cup of the sharp bitter liquid she had been drinking earlier and the smell of urine and sadness wafted into the room. Ponytail lady almost glides over to the older male and softly places the cup into his hand, one hand on his wrist and another on his shoulder blade as she guided her wobbling packmate to the table. Faster than he was used to seeing she grabbed the plate of food she had prepared and placed it in front of him. Mogar couldn't hear what she said to him, but could only watch as she stood close to him and rubbed his back lightly. He recognized this as one of the human equivalents to scenting. Shaking his head he leaves the room as she sends a floating tray to a packmate who hadn't come down to join the others.

A few days later the colored ones barge into the warm domed area Mogar had been practicing with his sword in. In their hands are clippings of newspaper and photos. All of a sudden he's being grappled to the ground by the blue one who's rambling about pack and family and how tippy top it all is. The green one is just in the background grumbling about overexcited puppies and weird ass families as he pulls the blue one off. And no matter how much Mogar protests or shouts at them that he is not a member of their pack Gavin still has that sparkly eyed stupid smile and Ray won't drop his smug, almost knowing, grin.

A/N: Yes, Ash wrote the article about pack and family and all of them living together. Let me know if anyone thinks that I should actually write it out... or if this fic is any good in general.


	4. New Look

Fall is over and winter settling over the city when Hilda grudgingly admits to herself that Mogar and his mother are now part of her routine. She hesitantly acknowledges that he found a way to wiggle a spot in the quiet moments between her usual morning interactions… and she might not mind. It's closer to Christmas after Ash has officially moved in when she begins noticing just how much a part of everyone's life he has become. He grapples and spars with Ray and Gavin to help them learn some actual hand to hand combat for about a month before she makes sure to happen by the kitchen where they're all patching each other up to help Mogar walk them through basic first-aid and his forest tricks. Then one night she goes to investigate the racket downstairs to find a slightly bruised and kinda bloody Mogar laughing and practically carrying an extremely drunk but not as beat up as usual Rusty. It takes her exactly half an hour while cleaning them up and grabbing them some food to hear the story of Rusty dragging Mogar to a bar, getting them into a fight, and Mogar's claim of a brotherhood formed in blood of their enemies and a battle well fought. Not too long later he begins addressing X-Ray and Vav as shield brothers when some reporter corners the three of them after a fight with a rising villain they had finally put down.

Then Ash picks up on this newfound camaraderie and has to have her two-bits. So on the mornings he's found sitting across from Hilda, tasting the newest breakfast beverage the boys have decided to introduce him to. So far he had liked tea best and Gavin was going crazy having him try different blends with different sweeteners or none at all. Ash would come down, grab her coffee, and begin talking to Mogar about his time at the house, his life before they met him, and occasionally talked him into accompanying her on errands or shopping trips when she failed with Hilda.

After breakfast she would hand off some papers to Mogar to help him become more acquainted with the world he was now acknowledging. He would hold onto them through Hilda and Rusty's daily ritual. Then, as she made her way up to her room and labs there he was, sword leaning against the wall beside him as he stood, arms crossed and a forced scowl on his face. Hilda would smile softly, pat his shoulder, and invite him in. They would spend about an hour working through letters and words until Mogar had a basic concept of the documents and a firmer grasp on the written language. One day he shyly hands her a slightly crumpled and stained piece of paper before sulking off. It's covered in his slowly improving scratchy scrawl but she smiles at all of their names written under the heading Pack. It really doesn't bother her that Mogar's name isn't on there, or that Ray, Gavin, and Ash's real names sit next to what he usually called them but hers just read ponytail lady. And it definitely is no concern of hers when Ash makes a grand entrance later that day, arms covered in bags from different clothing stores and calls them all into the entrance hall for a grand reveal of Mogar stepping through the front door. Bearskin and his usual garb gone Hilda's breath definitely does not whoosh out of her lungs at the sight of Mogar standing in the entrance of the house. Her mind does not go fuzzy at the sight of his auburn curls poking out from underneath a bear hat with little paws dangling at his sides, an almost too tight red shirt with a scarred bear paw in front of a sword that looked an awful lot like the sword strapped to Mogar's back, a pair of jeans that she was not even going to acknowledge the way they hugged his hips and a loose dark grey hoodie with sleeves that threatened cover his hands completely.

Hilda doesn't hear Ash gushing about Christmas shopping with Mogar. How they discovered his own fanbase and had to disguise him. Or that there was even a tree waiting to be brought inside the house. She just turns and snaps something about going up to her rooms to work on a project. She misses everyone's worried looks and hushed whispers. Ash's questions of 'Is she sick?' 'should we follow her?'. Gavin's worried rantings of upsetting her so close to Christmas, and Ray's grumblings about stupid girls ruining the holidays. But as she climbs the stairs she feels someone's gaze boring into her skull and turns back to see Mogar standing surrounded by colorful bags and chattering people with a hurt and confused look that makes her chest ache. She doesn't know what's wrong either.

A/N: So things may be moving faster than I expected but I hope it's still good. Again, if you gotta hate then message me cause no one else wants to deal with that noise.


	5. Reflections

"Mother, Mogar does not understand Ponytail lady."

"Mmmooo."

"But that is the problem, she is not like other females of this place Mogar has met."

"Moo?"

"She is not strong but is able to control all of her pack with respect… and maybe a little bit of fear. They make sure she does not let herself grow weak and she ensures their injuries are tended to, their battles not fought alone."

"Mmmoooo?"

"Yes, her scent is everywhere. She scents all of them without even thinking. It is a part of how she cares for them without even knowing." he smiles softly, "They are soothed by her very presence before she even speaks a word of comfort."

"Moo."

"Mother! I am not. She is this pack's alpha. They need her."

"Mmooo."

"I will do without. She belongs here, and I belong to, in... the forest."

"Moo."

Mogar sighs heavily, "Very well… but I will wait until this day of celebration they are preparing for."

"Hhrmph."

"Fine, Mogar will start tomorrow." He receives a lick that makes the hair on one side of his head stand up a bit. "Mogar loves you too mother."


	6. The Beginning

She doesn't quite understand it at first. The way he would come looking for her after the routine changes. Or the looks he would give her when she went out of her way to avoid him or being around the others for too long. And no, it was not because seeing Mogar made her brain stop working properly and her stomach melt into a mass of butterflies. Or because the others kept asking questions that she didn't quite have the answers to. So she wouldn't stay for breakfast, opting instead for a piece of toast and a cup of coffee as she throws herself headfirst into her work. Only coming down to make sure Rusty gets his breakfast and to see the others off. When she realizes that even her personal labs are no longer safe from his presence or the nagging of the others she decides heading out with the others to go to her actual office at Monarch Labs is the only solution. Work seems to pile up the more distracted she gets by a certain bear man dressed like some wayward college student trying to make his way up to her until she decides to just give in and see him. She didn't last a week.

As he walks in she notices the way her secretary tries standing as close to him as possible, fluttering her lashes and giggling with the brightest smile she can muster. He doesn't even notice it and that makes the sharp need to do _something_ to that little blonde twit go away. Then there's a bag being held in her face and she hesitantly takes it, eyeing the way he won't look at her, mumbling something she can't understand. It's a collection of shiny baubles and some spare parts she's been looking for with a handful of chocolate bars and what looks like a few treated animal skins. She pulls out one of the soft leathers that feels more like cloth than anything and raises a single brow at him. He still won't look at her but mutters something about tradition and gifts and hoping she likes it. Her smile softens and she can't help but chuckle at him and the wide eyed expression he gives her. They agree to talk after dinner, after all of the others have gone to bed and he hesitates before making his way to the door. She's shocked at the feeling of slightly chapped lips on her cheek then the feeling of being pulled close and his nose nuzzling her in the spot behind her jaw just below her ear, auburn curls tickling at her neck and cheek. The rest of the meetings and inspections that day pass in a blur and she finds herself thinking back to the glint in nervous but happy brown eyes and the bag of assorted items sitting on her desk and can't help but smile.

When she gets home that evening she it takes her a minute to realize something. There's no noise. No Ray and Gavin yelling at each other, no Ash chattering on about the latest scoop, and no Rusty rambling on about Vietnam and why the sake was always gone. There's just a pile of hastily written notes on the coffee table with some half-ass excuses about extra patrols, following a lead, last minute Christmas shopping, or heading out to a new bar. Then music slowly fills the air and she drops her bags and rushes after it. She's met by a smaller table than normal in the dining area, set for two, with candles and an old record player off to the side playing a soft melody that reminds her of dance lessons and her mother's lectures about being a 'proper lady'. And there, standing by the table pulling uncomfortably at the bow tie and suit that fits just right but he can't seem to settle in, is Mogar. His curls have been kind of tamed and there's not a trace of the dirt that usually stains some part of him no matter how much he tries to adhere to normal standards of cleanliness and his sword is nowhere to be seen. She's so shocked and surprised by all of it that she feels she's a little justified in her reaction when she starts laughing. He is shocked for a moment before he scowls at her.

"Do you find this funny?" he gestures angrily at the room.

"N-no, just," and she gestures at her own eyes. "Glasses." Then she's off again and Mogar fiddles with the latest addition to his wardrobe.

"Ash took Mo- me to the… optomterist."

He kind of falls into himself and Hilda finally gets a hold of herself, walking up to him and reaching up to fix the bow tie he had skewed. "Well I like them." She smiles up at him. "They're cute." He can't help blushing as she straightens up his jacket and hair that he had been pulling at. "Give me a minute." And she's running off.

He's pacing when 20 minutes later she shyly walks into the room. His wide eyes and unhinged jaw make her second guess herself. She tugs at the hem of the light blue dress Ash had convinced her to get a few months before. "Sorry it took me so long."

"You are…" he trails off and snaps up, back straight and face almost emotionless. "please sit." She smiles weakly as she sits in the chair he had pulled out for her. "Beautiful," he's standing by her chair, not looking at her, "Mogar wanted to say that you are beautiful."

She finds him easy to talk to, and that she thinks the way he has to make sure and speak in first person is endearing. They talk about life in the city and the forest, the life I I warrior and a scientist. He hesitantly asks if she was enjoying herself and she can't help but smile at him. She can't remember having a better time. As he places dessert on the table she has to ask: how did he do all this. Past the blushing and the mumbles she hears something about the colored ones teaching him to make the meal and the excitable female helping with the set up. Rusty insisted that Mogar pair the meal with only the finest wine that he had just so happened to have a bottle of. Then it's out there, a stillness at the question that Mogar seems to have regretted asking as they sit on the back porch the top of the greenhouse open to show the stars. If he can court her, it may not be quite the human way, but he promises he won't do too much of his 'bearman' stuff. She just smiles and leans in a little.

"After tonight, you'd better." And plants a light kiss onto his lips. She leans onto his shoulder contentedly and pretends to not hear the excited whispers coming from somewhere behind them as he slowly relaxes at the proximity and places an arm around her shoulders. Yeah, she'd say Christmas came a little early for her.


	7. Gifts

There's a thump and a bang and suddenly the colored ones are falling in a heap by Mogar's sleeping furs.

"What do you want?" he growls, reaching out for his new glasses.

"Mornin' Mogar!"

"We couldn't help but notice just how well things with you and Hilda went last night." Ray waggles his eyebrows at him from under Gavin.

He can't help smiling at the memory. "Yes, the plan you all helped Mogar make worked very well. Mogar is grateful."

"Yeah I know, we're awesome. But now it's the hard part buddy."

Gavin had scrambled off of Ray and now struck a 'heroic' pose. "Now we integrate your bearman courtship rituals with some good old fashioned dating basics for the ultimate wooing experience!" Mogar just blinked owlishly.

"Mogar is not sure that the colored ones are the best ones to be helping him…"

"Wha- but we're Hilda's pack, mate, who knows her better than pack?" Mogar just shook his head at them as he rose from the mass of furs and blankets he had been using as a bed.

"Just because you are pack does not mean you are the best option. Mogar will go to the curious female. She will be the best option."

"Pfft, whatever." Ray rolled his eyes. "Good luck with that, dude."

They all froze at a clanking sound from upstairs. "Why is there no fucking coffee?"

"And that's our cue to go, good luck bro, you know, wooing and all."

"Later mate, remember, we're always here to advise ya."

"Mogar will join you all for breakfast shortly."

Christmas came and went. Mogar sat through the pack's different traditions and smiled at the making of new ones. It was right after Hilda introduced him to mistletoe with a kiss on the cheek that he pulled her aside for her gift.

"But you already gave me something." Her fingers ghosted over the woven necklace she wore.

He nodded and reached behind his back. "That is for ponytail lady. This, this is for metal woman." He held out what seemed to be a slightly curved dagger in a simple leather sheath. She stared at it. "I care for you... and wish to protect you," he looked up at her and smirked, "But we both know that you do not need it."

"Mogar-"

"You are strong and brave and lead this pack like a true alpha. They follow not out of fear, but respect and love." Her hand rested on the hilt of the blade. "Mogar sees the woman and the warrior," She drew the dagger out of the sheath and marvelled for a moment at the bone blade. "And he cares for both… he wants both."

"I-I don't, that is. Good lord…" he chuckled at her fumbling words and flushed cheeks.

"Mogar understands, he will wait." She looked nervously up at him over the top of her glasses. "Mogar will wait until his sword is too heavy to lift and the sun falls from the sky. I will stay by your side until the long night calls me and even then I will fight to stay with you. I promise." then she makes a strange sound and he has his arms full of clingy scientist rambling on about perfectly cheesy bearmen and feels and primeval romance honor bullcrap. The overwhelming smell of something almost sickeningly sweet. He's barely making any sense of it all when the rambling stops and there's soft palms on either side of his face. The pads of her fingers are calloused and there's even some marks on her palms where they rest on his skin. Her breath is hot and smells of bitter drink as she leans in close.

"C-can I?" she's trembling in his arms and he barely registers the fact that the dagger is dangerously close to his face. His stomach coils sharply and he finds he can't look away from her blown pupils, her scent has taken on a new texture and is making him dizzy. He nods. And her lips are on his in a searing kiss. This isn't like the light caress of lips they had shared once before, and it's nothing like the wet, sloppy spectacles he had seen mates sharing about the city. This is soft and achingly sweet and a little awkward from the sense of urgency in the way she cradles his cheeks in her hand and the fact she's leaning down to kiss him. He briefly wonders if he should have put her down between the tackle hug and the kissing question.

C-click!

They pull apart, panting and flushed and he's looking at her with wide eyes and puffy lips.

"This is definitely going in the scrapbook." Ash smirks with a wink and walks out with a confident away in her hips, Polaroid waving in her hand.

"Does-" he clears his throat, she's still in his arms, though now he has a more comfortable grip on her that had has her flush against him. "Does this mean you accept Mogar's gift." She laughs and kisses him again, slow and sweet, before prying herself out of his arms and picking up the discarded sheath.

"You might need to teach me how to use this." She chuckles. "Cause I have no fucking clue what happens past slashy stabby."


	8. Soiree Gone South

Once the Christmas season was over Hilda almost sighed in relief. Almost looked on the remaining winter months with a sense of peace and anticipation at the social off-season. But this was Achievement City, and here, crime never had an off-season. Meaning heroes never had an off-season, so the social elite always had an excuse to throw another soiree or brunch in honor of said heroes. And Hilda, as the CEO of Monarch Labs, a known member of X-Ray and Vav's crime-fighting band of misfits, and the less well-known Metal Lady, was obligated to attend every single one thrice over. Especially the ones she 'hosted'.

When all of the invitations started coming in the only consolation she really had was that this year she would be able to drag Mogar along as her date. All gussied up with his not-quite-hipster glasses and too-form-fitting-to-be-legal tuxedos and dinner suits. The thought made her smile and blush a little. Now she knew that he found it difficult being dragged around like that. Dealing with the politics of the city's elite and not completely understanding or not being able to respond with his fists and sword to the thinly veiled insults. So she tried not letting him anywhere out of her sight. She soon discovered keeping Mogar on her arm at all times was actually much harder in practice than it had seemed in her head. She was always being dragged off by some bag of hot air for a dance or to talk business. Business she finally understood and found she was damn good at. And her nerves were not at all helped by the thought of the rest of her mishmashed family running wild amongst some of the most vicious, cutthroat foes they would ever face. Her panicked thoughts are cut off by a small cold hand resting on her hip.

"Well hey there doll." He has green eyes and golden blonde hair that's perfectly styled and a suit that must have cost her tuition. "What's a lovely piece like you doing walking around without an escort?"

Great, he thought he was charming.

"Uh, who do you think you are?" She tries to keep her voice neutral as she slips out of his arm. She shudders as his hand slides off her hip, a hand so soft it doesn't even catch on the silk despite the fingers trying to grasp at her waist. It leaves a sour taste in her mouth.

He laughs and moves closer. "The name's Eric, Eric Laughley." by the quirk of his eyebrow and the way his chest puffed up a little she could tell he expected this to cause a certain reaction. And it did, in a sense.

"Oh, so you're John's son?"

"You know my father?" The eyebrow dropped, his stance turned a little defensive.

"Don't worry, I'm not a reporter or one of his mistresses or anything." She chuckles as she snatches a glass of something bubbly and pink from a passing waiter. Not facing him she brings the drink up just below her lips. "I'm just his boss." bringing the glass to her mouth covers her smile at the dying fish sounds he's starting to make.

"Well, in that case." The smirk and easy stance were back in place. Damn the kid recovered fast. "Perhaps we should have a dance, get to know eachother better."

"Nah."

"Nah?"

"My dance card's full dude."

He snorts, "By whom?"

She smiles sweetly at him as she glides past. "Mogar." He watches, his mouth hanging open as she practically melts into the embrace of the curly haired bespectacled warrior who had hurried to her side, leaving a trail of disgruntled party-goers in his wake.

Mogar looks past her at the blonde with a glare. "Are you alright?" he fiddles with her necklace, the same one he had given her for Christmas. "He did not hurt you?" She laughs.

"Hurt me? Really?" She looks at him over her glasses, eyes sparkling with mischief.

He smiles, his cheeks flushing a little. "I just worry. Mogar is a protector, and though you are a warrior," he touches his forehead to hers and rubs their noses together, "you are also his beloved." the pink that spread across her cheeks made his chest warm.

And then the moment was gone. The sounds of creams and smashing glass ripped through the air followed by Gavin's squawks and Ray's curses.

"Ugh," she thumped her head on his chest. "They can't give us a week without causing shit?"

His chuckle rumbled through his chest and made her tighten her grip. "Come, we are needed." She sighed again as he pulled away from her, shedding his suit jacket and taking his sword from ORF.

"Do you wish to initiate the battle suit?" The ever cheery bot asked. She really needed to remember to pay more attention to the little AI

Hilda shook her head as she pulled at the easy-tear seam she had had put in. "Experimental exo-suit program 157, impromptu setting."

"Okay!" Hilda pulled her dagger from where she had strapped it to her thigh as ORF ejected four bracelets and a small orb that stuck to Hilda's chest.

"Ow!" Hilda hissed as the new technology embedded itself into her skin, lining up with connecting to the chips that lay beneath. She broke the heels off of her shoes as the bracelets became light, fingerless, metal gauntlets. And she tried not to fall on her face as the ones on her ankles grew to cover her calves, connecting to her now flat shoes. "Alright," She rolled her shoulders as Ash and some of the braver reporters took pictures and Vav was thrown against a wall. "Let's do this." as she ran to the chaos that had been unleashed into the ballroom she felt the orb in her chest grown hot as the chest plate spread across her torso. That was a bit unexpected.

All other thoughts were beaten out of her as a spiked creature came towards her, striking at her face. "Aaagh!" the yell drew attention to her as she brought up one gauntleted hand to protect herself. And she smirked at the camera flashes that followed her other hand coming across with her dagger and slashing the thing in the chest. She could practically see the next day's front page.

"Wot the bloody hell?!"

"Dude, liking the new duds!" She spared a smirk their way then focused back to the strange black creatures they were trying to beat back.

"Mogar is impressed with your new armor." His words shocked her as he grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him. "It is almost as if you took Curious female's advice to match." oh if they weren't currently keeping the other alive she would sock that smirk off of his face.

"Just shut up and fight." He laughed out loud at her and ducked beneath her blade as she stabbed at something to his left, using the momentum to roll across his back and kick at the next creature coming at them. "We'll talk about this later."

"Does that mean that Mogar needs to plan another dinner?" She blushed and screamed as she punched an already falling creature in the face.

"Hilda, Mogar, are you two dating?"

"Is that why Mogar has been coming to the parties and celebrations of X-Ray and Vav?"

"Are there wedding bells in your future?"

"X-Ray, Vav, What is it like living with the two lovebirds?"

"Can the questions wait for after we stop the weird ass spike monsters?" Ray's panicked yell stops the reporters' questions. They just wait until after the fight, when Hilda is making sure no one broke anything, that the cut on Mogar's cheek wasn't going to get infected, and that her dagger is safely tucked away in its sheath. That's when they corner them. Bombarding them with questions of how and why and when and Ash, bless her, stands between the group and the horde. She helps Hilda patch up the boys -taking extra care with Vav- and fending off questions and answers as Hilda ushers the group to an employees only elevator where Rusty stands with the doors open and a 2x4 in hand.

"Well, that was an experience." Mogar sighs when the six of them are sitting in Hilda's office, Monarch Lab's medical team checking them over. Hilda looks over at them from where she's working with her hand-picked weapons and robotics team and some of the more specialized medics on getting the core for her new armor out of the spot just below the hollow of her throat, where it kinda dug and burned itself in.

"Yeah, but hey, we survived." She signs some forms and packets that get passed around the team taking care of them. "Who knows what would have happened if those reporters had gotten ahold of us." She sighs, a smile on her lips, as the rest of the room laughed. Yeah, they had to put up with bad guys and reporters, and nosy fangirls, but they had each other. They'd be okay.


	9. Infighting

The colored ones told Mogar about their pack's 'duties' as the city's protectors to show up to all of the fancy parties and useless dinners. Mogar told them he was not pack, so he would not be going… but he found himself dragged along to every event by Hilda anyway. And while it was difficult for him, being led around while in the confining clothes that she and Ash had insisted he needed for the events, the smile she gave him and the strange look in her eye whenever she glanced his way was worth it. As part of the courtship Mogar had made a couple of rough jewelry pieces that he had been presenting to her almost daily since Christmas. And at each event he couldn't help the swell of pride when he saw at least one of his gifts on her amidst the shiny stones the other females wore. Growing up in the woods meant that he had never actually learned to dance the way you were supposed to at one of these fancy parties, but found that with Hilda's help it wasn't too bad.

So he could get used to the suffocating clothes and complicated steps. The strange food and bubbly drinks that made his senses go a little fuzzy after a while. Even smiling at the people that he was expected to not hurt at the parties despite the insults to him or one of Hilda's pack. He could sort of understand it all. Could sort of make sense of all the traditions and rules of the city. What Mogar just couldn't understand was everyone else's interest in his courting her. It was probably his own fault, being so territorial of her at the parties she dragged him to. Even going so far as to challenge some of the more persistent males when they tried cornering her at parties. Hilda and Ash had told him that you did not challenge other males to a fight to the death over a female… or for any reason really. So people were intrigued by his 'bearman courting rituals'. And it was all made so much worse when the Monarch Labs New Year's party was attacked by the minions of one of the city's newest villains. They had fought side by side, their movements fluid and in tune with the other's. Now he wasn't good at dancing in a circle or across a ballroom floor, but he figured that the way they moved together that night in battle came pretty close. He was hard and steady and unyielding where she was soft and quick and adaptable. That was their dance, always protecting each other's weak points.

So it didn't come as much of a surprise when, around the day of hearts, chocolates and the scent of mating, Ash came down for breakfast with her laptop and excitedly showed everyone all of the pictures and articles that had been popping up since Mogar moved in. None of it seemed to bother Hilda so much as amuse or exasperate her in turn. And the colored ones actually seemed to share the curious female's excitement over it all so Mogar said nothing. In fact, he kinda liked the ones from their first time fighting together, he liked the way she looked at his side in that soft black dress with white and silver armor over it all. Her hair piled atop her head and pinned into place, the necklace he had given her on display where it rested against her collarbones. So he just sat silently through Gavin's ramblings about what he had deemed the city's cutest couple. Chuckled at Ray's fits about all of the fanfiction and fanart that was popping up about them, and the group in general, though he would never divulge just how he found any of it. And he trusted Ash and Rusty to -as Hilda said- work their magic at Public Relations. It wasn't until the snows turned into rain that he said anything.

It was loud and ugly and had both Hilda and Mogar storming out of the restaurant with cameras popping and reporters yelling questions after them. The tabloids screamed out all the dirty details they could dig up -or make up and pass off- about what happened. Everyone spewing a different theory about what had Mogar dumping his suit jacket, tie, and dress shoes on the doorstep of the fanciest restaurant in town and running off into the night as Hilda summoned her full ORF suit. Ash and Rusty worked long hours with the PR department of Monarch Labs to control as much of what was being said as possible. And X-Ray and Vav were given explicit instructions to avoid the paparazzi at all costs until Ash gave them the all clear. But they never were very good with following directions. Slowly stories cropped up of Hilda spending long nights at the office. Mogar disappearing for days. Rusty actually avoiding alcohol to deal with the problems the group was facing. Trying to keep their family together.

But Rusty was no alpha and Ash could only do so much even with the crew that had kept the Mad King in the city's good graces pulling every string there was and calling in favors she didn't want to know about. The city noticed their dynamic duo patrolling by themselves again. Ash's to Ash's all but shut down. And there was that strange hobo randomly shouting about Vietnam again. The mayor even tried his best to quiet some of the rumors.

The world was coming alive again when it happened. The morning ritual was shot to hell and it was one of the rare days when everyone but Hilda and Mogar were at the table. They had settled into the only semblance of peace and family they had left when Mogar burst into the room, sword strapped to his back and bags under his eyes.

"Where is she?!"


End file.
